Bale targets Champions League return with Tottenham

Tuesday 18 September 2012

Gareth Bale has insisted he had no thoughts of leaving Tottenham Hotspur over the summer and is instead focused on helping the club return to the Champions League, the Daily Telegraph has reported.

Bale signed a new contract during pre-season and, while he wants to play in the Champions League again and do so with Tottenham, he did call for patience as Andre Villas-Boas gets to grips with his new surroundings and the players do likewise with the new Head Coach.

Tottenham recorded a first win of the Villas-Boas era on Sunday, seeing off newly-promoted Reading 3-1 at the Madejski Stadium thanks to a Jermain Defoe brace and one from Bale. The Welshman said: “The manager is here to build a team and it’s a new way of playing for us, compared to last season. It does take time.

“Everybody should understand that it takes time and there has been an improvement in every game and you’ve seen that against Reading. I think everybody just has to be patient. Things will come and, hopefully, we can push on from there.”

Bale added that he believes Tottenham’s squad now is stronger than at this point last season - despite the sales of Rafael van der Vaart and Luka Modric. Tottenham signed over the summer defender Jan Vertonghen and midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson, adding late in the window Fulham pair Clint Dempsey and Moussa Dembele, and France international goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. Emmanuel Adebayor has also moved to the club permanently from Manchester City after spending last season on loan at White Hart Lane.

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